The notorious John Dillinger -- Chicago Tribune The notorious John Dillinger Nov. 14, 2013 John Herbert Dillinger was a Depression-era bank robber from Indiana who's reign of illegal activity lasted only one year. From September 1933 until July 1934, he and his violent gang terrorized the Midwest, killing 10 men, wounding 7 others, robbing banks and police arsenals, and staging 3 jail breaks. In June 1934, Dillinger was named America's first Public Enemy Number One by the FBI. On July 22, 1934, Dillinger was shot and killed by the FBI as he walked out of the Biograph Theater on Chicago's north side. Anna Sage, his friend, had betrayed him to the FBI in return for not getting deported to her home country of Romania. Sage became known as the "Woman in Red" for her choice of clothing that day. Next ▶ Buy this photo John Dillinger, center, is handcuffed to Deputy Sheriff R. M.

Pierce, left, during Dillinger's court hearing in Crown Point, Indiana during the first weeks of February 1934. Dillinger was charged with killing police officer William O'Malley, 43, during a bank robbery in East Chicago, Indiana on Jan. 15, 1934. His trail date was set for March 12, 1934. Dillinger would break out of the Crown Point, Indiana jail on March 3, 1934. — Chicago Tribune historical photo ◀ Previous Next ▶ Buy this photo Sgt. Edward A. Grim of the North Robey Street police station with a Dubuque, Iowa newspaper found in John Dillinger's stolen and abandoned automobile on May 2, 1934. The bloodstained getaway car, found at 3338 N.

Leavitt Street in Chicago, had a surgical kit, matches from the Little Bohemia Resort, and the newspaper dated April 23, 1934 with the headline "Dillinger On Rampage." — Chicago Tribune historical photo ◀ Previous Next ▶ Buy this photo Indiana state police surround the house where two of the convicts were supposed to have been from the Michigan City prison break, circa Oct. 1933. On Sept. 26, 1933, ten convicts, lead by John 'Red' Hamilton, broke out of the Indiana State Prison in Michigan City, Indiana, using guns smuggled to them by John Dillinger. In the coming days after the prison break, the Chicago Tribune reported over "500 vigilantes, police and deputy sherriffs" searched the farming districts near Michigan City for the felons. Dillinger, who was in a jail cell in Lima, Ohio, engineered the escape of the ten convicts, who became known as Dillinger's gang. Less than a month after they escaped from Michigan City, several of Dillinger's gang broke him out of the jail in Lima, Ohio.

— Chicago Tribune historical photo ◀ Previous Next ▶ Buy this photo John Dillinger, center, is led through the Crown Point, Indiana court building on Jan. 31, 1934 to be viewed by witnesses from the First National Bank robbery that occurred on Jan. 15, 1934 in East Chicago, Indiana. Dillinger had been caught in Arizona and flown back to Indiana to be tried for the murder of patrolman William O'Malley, 43. — Chicago Tribune historical photo ◀ Previous Next ▶ Buy this photo John Dillinger arrived back at the county jail at Crown Point, Indiana on Jan. 30, 1934 after being caught in Arizona five days earlier. Authorities were fearful that Dillinger's gang would try to rescue their leader, so heavily armed guards surrounded the court house and jail. Dillinger was charged with killing police officer William O'Malley, 43, during a bank robbery in East Chicago, Indiana on Jan. 15, 1934. — Chicago Tribune historical photo ◀ Previous Next ▶ Buy this photo John Dillinger is handcuffed and guarded as he smokes during a court recess while Deputy Sheriff R. M.

Pierce, left, looks on during Dillinger's hearing at Crown Point, Indiana in the first weeks of February 1934. Dillinger was charged with killing police officer William O'Malley, 43, during a bank robbery in East Chicago, Indiana on Jan. 15, 1934. His trail date was set for March 12, 1934. Dillinger would break out of the Crown Point, Indiana jail on March 3, 1934. — Chicago Tribune historical photo ◀ Previous Next ▶ Buy this photo John Dillinger arrived at the county jail at Crown Point, Indiana, on Jan. 30, 1934 after being caught in Arizona five days earlier. Authorities were fearful that Dillinger's gang would try to rescue their leader, so heavily armed guards surrounded the court house and jail. — Chicago Tribune historical photo ◀ Previous Next ▶ Buy this photo John Dillinger escaped from the county jail at Crown Point, Indiana, with only a toy gun on March 3, 1934.

Dillinger threatened deputy sheriffs with a wooden gun and then locked up more than a dozen guards before fleeing in the sheriff's own car. Dillinger was in jail awaiting trial for killing police officer William O'Malley, 43, during a bank robbery in East Chicago, Indiana on Jan. 15, 1934. His trail date had been set for March 12, 1934. — Chicago Tribune historical photo ◀ Previous Next ▶ Buy this photo The Crown Point, Indiana, Jail house, right, and County Courthouse, left, after John Dillinger escaped with only a toy gun on March 3, 1934. Dillinger threatened deputy sheriffs with a wooden gun and then locked up more than a dozen guards before fleeing in the sheriff's own car. — Chicago Tribune historical photo ◀ Previous Next ▶ Buy this photo A police officer shows the busted out rear window of John Dillinger's stolen and then abandoned automobile at the North Robey Street police station on May 2, 1934. The bloodstained Ford V-8 sedan, found at 3338 N.

Leavitt Street in Chicago, had a surgical kit, matches from the Little Bohemia Resort, and a Dubuque, Iowa, newspaper dated April 23, 1934 with the headline "Dillinger On Rampage." — Chicago Tribune historical photo ◀ Previous Next ▶ Buy this photo Government men at the Little Bohemia Resort in Manitowish Waters, Wisconsin, where a gun battle with John Dillinger and his gang took place on April 22, 1934. Leading the group of G-men were federal agents Melvin Purvis and Hugh Clegg. FBI agents had surrounded the lodge, but Dillinger and his gang were able to escape along the shore of the nearby lake. — Chicago Tribune historical photo ◀ Previous Next ▶ Buy this photo Max Organist looks at the guns left behind by John Dillinger and his gang on April 22, 1934 at the Little Bohemia Resort in Manitowish Waters, Wisconsin. FBI agents had surrounded the lodge were Dillinger and his gang were staying, but the outlaws were able to escape along the shore of the nearby lake.

— Chicago Tribune historical photo ◀ Previous Next ▶ Buy this photo Government men stand by the Ford that was abandoned by John Dillinger during a gun battle between authorities and Dillinger's gang at the Little Bohemia Resort on April 22, 1934 in Manitowish Waters, Wisconsin. FBI agents had surrounded the lodge, but Dillinger and his gang were able to escape along the shore of the nearby lake. Two people were killed during the raid, an FBI agent and a local man who was mistaken for one of Dillinger's gang. — Chicago Tribune historical photo ◀ Previous Next ▶ Buy this photo Men carry the body of Chicago federal agent W. Carter Baum, a government man who was killed by "Baby Face" Nelson of John Dillinger's gang, during a shoot-out at the Little Bohemia resort in Manitowish Waters, Wisconsin on April 22, 1934. Two people were killed during the raid, an FBI agent and a local man who was mistaken for one of Dillinger's gang. — Chicago Tribune historical photo ◀ Previous Next ▶ Buy this photo Constable Carl C.

Christensen with Mary Levendoski at the Twin City Hospital in Ironwood, Michigan after Christensen was shot by "Baby Face" Nelson of the John Dillinger gang during a gun fight at the Little Bohemia Resort in Manitowish Waters, Wisconsin on April 22, 1934. Christensen, a Spider Lake, Wisc. constable, was said to be gravely wounded but survived his wounds. — Chicago Tribune historical photo ◀ Previous Next ▶ Buy this photo Eveyln "Billie" Frechette was released from prison on Jan. 30, 1936. Frechette was arrested in Chicago while her boyfriend and fugitive, John Dillinger, watched helplessly nearby on April 9, 1934. Frechette, who had met Dillinger in 1933, was charged with harboring a fugitive in her St. Paul, Minnesota apartment. She spent two years in jail, getting out in 1936. Upon her release, Frechette toured in a theatrical production called "Crime Doesn't Pay" with members of Dillinger's family.

— Chicago Tribune historical photo ◀ Previous Next ▶ Buy this photo John Dillinger and his gang arrive in Chicago on Jan. 30, 1934 after their arrest in Arizona five days earlier. Dillinger had been caught in Arizona and flown back to Indiana to be tried for the murder of patrolman William O'Malley, 43. O'Malley was shot down during the First National Bank robbery in East Chicago, Indiana. Dillinger's trail date was set for March 12, 1934. Dillinger would break out of the Crown Point, Indiana jail on March 3, 1934. — Chicago Tribune historical photo ◀ Previous Next ▶ Copy photos of members of John Dillinger's gang, circa Dec. 1933. From top left, are Harry Pierpont (11014), Charles Makley (12636), John Dillinger (13225), and Russell Clark (12261).

— Chicago Tribune historical photo ◀ Previous Next ▶ Buy this photo Dillinger was shot and killed by FBI agents on July 22, 1934 at the Biograph Theater on Lincoln Avenue in Chicago after receiving a tip from Dillinger's friend Anna Sage. Sage, known as the "Woman in Red," told authorities that she, Dillinger, and Dillinger's girlfriend Polly Hamilton Keele would be at the movies and to look for her dressed in red. Some reports say Sage was actually dressed in orange. — Chicago Tribune historical photo ◀ Previous Next ▶ Buy this photo Anna Sage, nicknamed the "Women in Red", at the Sheffield Avenue police station in July 1934. Sage, who wore red or orange as a mark for the FBI, had been with John Dillinger when he was shot and killed by the FBI outside the Biograph Theater in Chicago on July 22, 1934. Sage said she made a deal with famous FBI agent Melvin Purvis. In exchange for information on Dillinger's whereabouts, she would not be deported to her home country of Romania for running a brothel.

— Chicago Tribune historical photo ◀ Previous Next ▶ Buy this photo People stand around the blood stain from John H. Dillinger, 32, in the alley behind the Biograph Theater in Chicago. Dillinger was shot and killed by FBI agents on July 22, 1934 after receiving a tip from Dillinger's friend Anna Sage. Sage, known as the "Woman in Red," told authorities that she, Dillinger, and Dillinger's girlfriend Polly Hamilton Keele would be at the movies and to look for her dressed in red. Some reports say Sage was actually dressed in orange. — Chicago Tribune historical photo ◀ Previous Next ▶ Buy this photo John Dillinger's body lies dead on a slab at the Cook County Morgue after he was shot and killed by FBI agents on July 22, 1934 at the Biograph Theater in Chicago. According to the Chicago Tribune, Dillinger was "partly covered with a sheet below which well manicured feet protrude, a tag labeled "Dillinger" on each big toe." — Chicago Tribune historical photo ◀ Previous Next ▶ Buy this photo Prof. D. E.

Ashworth lifts a plaster death mask off the face of John Dillinger while his students watch on July 23, 1934 at the Cook County Morgue in Chicago. Prof. Ashworth, of the Worsham College of Mortuary Science, had told employees at the morgue the he had permission to create the mask, but didn't. Ashworth and his students were ousted from the morgue and the partially completed mask was confiscated by the police. Unbeknownst to the FBI, a complimentary copy of another death mask was sent to the bureau from the Reliance Dental Corporation, who also did not have permission. To this day, there is controversy over how many death masks were made of Dillinger's face and the authenticity of the masks. — Chicago Tribune historical photo ◀ Previous Next ▶ Buy this photo Betty Nelson and Rosella Nelson view the body of John Dillinger, 32, while in bathing suits at the Cook County Morgue, located at Polk and Wood Streets, in Chicago. In the days after Dillinger was killed on July 22, 1934, massive crowds lined up outside the morgue to get a glimpse of the notorious public enemy.

— Chicago Tribune historical photo ◀ Previous Next ▶ Buy this photo John Dillinger's body leaves the Cook County Morgue at Polk and Wood Streets to be taken to McCready Funeral home at 4506 Sheridan Road on July 24, 1934. Dillinger's father, John Dillinger Sr., 70, traveled from Mooresville, Ind. to claim his son's body. Dillinger was embalmed and then taken back to Indiana for burial. — Chicago Tribune historical photo ◀ Previous FBI — John Dillinger Info John Dillinger John Herbert Dillinger, Jr. (1903-1934) was a Midwestern bank robber, auto thief, and fugitive who captured the national imagination between 1933 and 1934. In March 1934, Dillinger stole a car and crossed state lines following a sensational prison break, giving the FBI jurisdiction to join the manhunt. On July 22, 1934, FBI agents closed in on Dillinger outside of the Biograph Theater in Chicago and shot and killed him as he reached for his pistol.

These files range from 1933 to the mid-1970s, covering Dillinger’s rise as a criminal and the FBI investigation of him, his gang, and other associates and continuing well past his death due as a result of ongoing public interest. Biograph Theater | Victory Gardens Theater Our Sponsors Biograph Theater It is most famous as the location where bank robber John Dillinger was shot by the FBI, led by Melvin Purvis, on July 22, 1934. The Biograph Theater is on the National Register of Historic Places and was designated a Chicago Landmark on March 28, 2001. History Designed in 1914 by Samuel N. Crowen, an architect known for his classically detailed designs, the Biograph Theater possesses many of the distinguishing characteristics of the earliest movie houses, included a simple storefront-width lobby, recessed entrance, free-standing ticket booth, and canopy marquee. The building is finished with red pressed brick and white-glazed terra cotta, and its construction typifies the first-generation movie houses whose architectural style gave legitimacy and respectability to the fledgling motion picture industry.

Dillinger’s death, after being named “Public Enemy No. 1” by the FBI, guarantees the Biograph’s place in Chicago crime history. In this July 21, 1934 file photo, people pose in front of the Biograph Theater at Lincoln and Fullerton Streets as one woman displays the newspaper headline “Dillinger Slain” in Chicago, IL. Outlaw John Dillinger was shot and killed by federal agents outside the movie theater after watching the feature “Manhattan Melodrama.” AP Photo/File The Biograph Theater premiered D.W. Griffith’s Birth of a Nation, and continued on as a grand movie theater through the Depression, two world wars, and the 50’s and 60’s. On the evening of July 22, 1934 a dapper-looking man wearing a straw hat and a pin-striped suit stepped out of the Biograph Theater where he and two girlfriends had watched a film called Manhattan Melodrama starring Clark Gable. No sooner had they reached the sidewalk when a man appeared and identified himself as Melvin Purvis of the FBI. He ordered the man in the straw hat to surrender.

Several shots rang out and the fleeing man in the straw hat fell dead to the pavement. So ended the life of John Herbert Dillinger, the most prolific bank robber in modern American history and the general public’s favorite Public Enemy No. 1. Surrounding businesses have banked on the criminal’s name for many years. On the day after the fatal shots were fired, the bar next door placed a sign in the window that read “Dillinger had his last drink here”. In the 1970’s, as was the custom in many parts of the United States, the 60 year old theater, in need of renovation, was converted into a four screen “multiplex,” so four movies could be shown at a time, increasing the profits. The original decor mostly lost, the historic Biograph continued to show movies until 2001. The theater reopened in 2002 under the Village Theatres chain, which operated it until September 2004, when it again closed. In 2004, after 90 years as a movie theater, Victory Gardens purchased the Biograph. The theater was completely renovated by architect Daniel P. Coffey.

The interior was entirely rebuilt, from a venue which could originally seat over 900 to a proscenium-thrust stage seating 299 people. A grand staircase, which was part of the original structure, was restored to lead up to the building’s second floor, to house a future studio theater and an adjacent rehearsal/multiple-use space. The facade was repaired and cleaned and the marquee was rebuilt to resemble its original appearance. The words “Victory Gardens” replaced the word “Essaness” over the neon-lit Biograph name, Essaness being the chain that operated the movie house during the 1930s. The $11.8 million project for the new theater, styled the Victory Gardens at the Biograph, was completed in 2006 and opened on September 28, 2006, with Victory Gardens Playwrights Ensemble Member Charles Smith’s drama, Denmark. THE BIOGRAPH THEATER THE BIOGRAPH THEATER THE LIFE & MYSTERIOUS DEATH OF JOHN DILLINGER The scene outside of Chicago's Biograph Theater less than one hour after Dillinger. was allegedly killed by the FBI.

On the evening of July 22, 1934 a dapper-looking man wearing a straw hat and a pin-striped suit stepped out of the Biograph Theater in downtown Chicago where he and two girlfriends had watched a film called Manhattan Melodrama starring Clark Gable. No sooner had they reached the sidewalk when a man appeared and identified himself as Melvin Purvis of the FBI. He ordered the man in the straw hat to surrender. Experience the Ghosts, Local Legends & Best Kept Secrets of the Windy City! Weird Chicago Tours! Several shots rang out and the fleeing man in the straw hat fell dead to the pavement, his left eye shredded by one of the shots fired by the other agents who lay in wait. So ended the life of John Herbert Dillinger, the most prolific bank robber in modern American history and the general public's favorite Public Enemy No. 1...... or did it? One of the most famous haunted theaters in the history of Chicago is the Biograph Theater, located on North Lincoln Avenue in downtown Chicago. It was here, in 1934, that John Dillinger supposedly met his end....

The theater has gained a reputation for being haunted, but the story of the ghost seen here actually revolves around the alleyway outside. But the theater, and the surrounding businesses, have banked on the criminal's name for many years. On the day after the fatal shots were fired, the bar next door placed a sign in the window that read "Dillinger had his last drink here". Theater patrons can examine a window in the box office that describes the set-up of Dillinger by the FBI. They can sit in the same seat where Dillinger sat nearly 65 years ago and after the film, they can emerge into "Dillinger's Alley.... it is here where the ghost is said to appear. But what really happened in the final moments of Dillinger's life? To answer the strange and perplexing questions surrounding his possible death, we have to first look at his bloody and violent life. On the evening that he was killed, Dillinger left the theater in the company of Anna Sage (the famed "Lady in Red") and with another girlfriend, Polly Hamilton.

He had been hiding out in her North Halstead Street apartment but for months he had been pursued diligently by Melvin Purvis, the head of the Chicago branch of the FBI. Purvis had lived and breathed Dillinger (and would, after the robber's death, commit suicide) and had narrowly missed him several times at a State Street and Austin Cafe; at Dillinger's north woods hideout in Sault St. Marie; and at Wisconsin's Little Bohemia, where FBI agents recklessly killed a civilian and injured two others. It was finally at the Biograph where Purvis caught up with Dillinger and put an end to his career. The criminal life of John Dillinger started in 1925 when he held up a grocery store in his hometown of Mooresville, Indiana. Pleading guilty, he was sentenced to serve 10-20 years in prison while his accomplice, who claimed not guilty, only received a sentence of 2 years. Dillinger spent the next 8 years in jail but when he was released in May of 1933, he robbed three banks in three months and netted more than $40,000.

Thus began Dillinger's wild spree of crime. Dillinger was captured in September 1933 and imprisoned in Lima, Ohio. In three weeks, his gang sprung him in a dangerous escape and again were back to bank robbing. In January 1934, Dillinger shot and killed a police officer in East Chicago, for which he was arrested in Arizona and jailed in Crown Point, Indiana to await trial. He escaped a month later, using a fake gun that he had carved from a bar of soap and blackened with shoe polish. He eluded the police for another month, shooting his way out of an ambush in St. Paul and dodging the FBI near Mercer, Wisconsin. Dillinger arrived in Chicago in late June and proceeded to rob a South Bend, Indiana bank and kill a police officer and four civilians. In just over a year, Dillinger has robbed six banks, killed two cops, two FBI agents, escaped from jail twice and had escaped from police and FBI traps six times. In the process of all of this violence, Dillinger managed to become an American folk hero.

It was the time of the Great Depression and here was a man striking back at poverty by taking from those who could afford losing their money the most. Stories began to circulate about Dillinger giving away much of his stolen money to the poor and the needy. Were these stories true? Who knows? But the American public believed it, which was more than the government could stand. Dillinger had to be taken, and soon. He had become J. Edgar Hoover's "Public Enemy No. 1"... and the heat was on. Dillinger knew that his luck could only hold out for so long and in May of 1934, he contacted a washed-up doctor who had done time for drug charges named Loeser. He paid him $5000 to perform some plastic surgery on his recognizable face, getting rid of three moles and a scar and getting rid of the cleft of his chin and the bridge of his nose. The doctor agreed to the surgery and left Dillinger in the care of his assistant to administer the general anesthetic. An ether-soaked towel was placed over Dillinger's face and the assistant told him to breathe deeply.

Suddenly, Dillinger's face turned blue and he swallowed his tongue... and died! Dr. Loeser immediately revived the gangster and proceeded to do the surgery. Dillinger would have no idea how close he had come to death. Ironically, just 25 days later, he would catch a bullet in front of the Biograph Theater.... or so they say. When Dillinger walked into the theater that night he had been set up by Anna Sage, who had taken him there at the request of the FBI. She had promised to be wearing a red dress for identification purposes. Sixteen cops and FBI agents waited over two hours outside the theater, waiting for the unknowing Dillinger to exit. They even walked the aisles of the theater several times to make sure that he was still there.... how could the clever gangster have not noticed them? Finally, Dillinger left the theater and was met by Melvin Purvis. He stepped down from the curb, just passing the alley entrance and tried to run. He reached for his own gun, but it was too late... four shots were fired and three hit Dillinger. The gangster fell, dead when he hit the pavement.

Purvis ordered Dillinger rushed to nearby Alexian Brothers Hospital. He was turned away at the doors as he was already dead and Purvis and the police waited on the hospital lawn for the coroner to arrive. A mob scene greeted the coroner at the Cook County Morgue where curiosity-seekers filed in long lines past a glass window for a last look at Dillinger. Little did they know that the man they were looking at may not have been the famed gangster at all..... The scene at the Biograph Theater was also chaotic. Tradition tells that passers-by ran to the scene and dipped their handkerchiefs in the blood of the fallen man, hoping for a macabre souvenir of this terrible event. And it is at this theater where the final moments of John Dillinger have left a lasting impression. It would be many years after before people passing by the Biograph on North Lincoln Avenue would begin to spot a blue, hazy figure running down the alley next the theater, falling down and then vanishing. Along with the sighting of this strange apparition were reports of cold spots, icy chills, unexplainable cool breezes, and odd feelings of fear and uneasiness.

Local business owners began to notice that people had stopped using the alley as a shortcut to Halstead Street. The place certainly seemed haunted.... but is the ghost of the man who has been seen here really that of John Dillinger? I would hazard a guess to say that it is not! Ever since the night of the shoot-out at the Biograph, eyewitness accounts and the official autopsy have given support to the theory that the dead man may not have been Dillinger. Rumors have persisted that the man killed by the FBI was actually a small-time hood from Wisconsin who had been set up by Dillinger's girlfriend and Anna Sage to take the hit. There are many striking errors in the autopsy report.... the dead man had brown eyes while Dillinger's were blue; the corpse had a rheumatic heart condition since childhood while Dillinger's naval service records said that his heart was in perfect condition; and the man who was killed was much shorter and heavier than Dillinger and had none of his distinguishing marks. Police agencies claimed that Dillinger had plastic surgery to get rid of his scars and moles, but also missing were at least two scars on Dillinger's body!

And there is more conflicting evidence to say that the FBI killed the wrong man... On the night of the shooting, a local man named Jimmy Lawrence disappeared. Lawrence was a small-time criminal who had recently moved from Wisconsin. He lived in the neighborhood and often came to the Biograph Theater.... he also bore an uncanny resemblance to John Dillinger. In addition, a photograph taken from the purse of Dillinger's girlfriend shows her in the company of a man who looks like the man killed at the Biograph... a photo taken before Dillinger ever had plastic surgery! Could Dillinger's girlfriend have made a date with Jimmy Lawrence to go to the Biograph, knowing (thanks to Anna Sage) that the FBI was waiting for him there? Some writers have suggested this is exactly what happened. Respected crime writer, Jay Robert Nash, an expert on Dillinger, reported in his book The Dillinger Dossier that Dillinger's girlfriend and Anna Sage rigged the whole affair. According to Nash, Sage was a prostitute from England who was in danger of being deported. To prevent this, she went to the police and told them that she knew Dillinger.

In exchange for not being deported, she would arrange to have Dillinger at the Biograph, where they could nab him. She agreed to wear a bright, red dress so she would be easily recognized. While FBI agents waited, "Dillinger" and his girlfriends watched the movie and enjoyed popcorn and soda. When the film ended, the FBI agents made their move. Nash believes however, that they shot Jimmy Lawrence instead of Dillinger. He also believes that when they learned of their mistake, the FBI covered it up, either because they feared the wrath of J. Edgar Hoover, who told them to "get Dillinger or else", or because Hoover himself was too embarrassed to admit the mistake. So, what happened to the real John Dillinger? Nobody knows for sure, but some claim this American Robin Hood, who supposedly only robbed from banks and gave some of his spoils to the poor, married and moved to Oregon. He disappeared in the late 1940's and was never heard from again....... The Biograph Theater is located on North Lincoln Avenue in Chicago. 75 Years Since US Justice Dept.

Offers $10,000 For Arrest Of John Dillinger Photos and Images | Getty Images 75 Years Since US Justice Dept. Offers $10,000 For Arrest Of John Dillinger January 01, 1934 License Anna Sage (1889 - 1947), whose real name was Ana Cumpanas, a brothel madam in...Anna Sage (1889 - 1947), whose real name was Ana Cumpanas, a brothel madam in Chicago, circa 1934. She betrayed bank robber John Dillinger to the FBI, and was with him at the Biograph Theater when he was shot and killed. She was known afterwards as the 'Lady in Red' for the colour of the dress she wore to identify herself to the FBI. LessMore Dillinger gunned down - Jul 22, 1934 - HISTORY.com Dillinger gunned down Publisher A+E Networks Outside Chicago’s Biograph Theatre, notorious criminal John Dillinger–America’s “Public Enemy No. 1″–is killed in a hail of bullets fired by federal agents.

In a fiery bank-robbing career that lasted just over a year, Dillinger and his associates robbed 11 banks for more than $300,000, broke jail and narrowly escaped capture multiple times, and killed seven police officers and three federal agents. John Dillinger was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, in 1903. A juvenile delinquent, he was arrested in 1924 after a botched mugging. He pleaded guilty, hoping for clemency, but was sentenced to 10 to 20 years at Pendleton Reformatory. While in prison, he made several failed escapes and was adopted by a group of professional bank robbers led by Harry Pierpont, who taught him the ways of their trade. When his friends were transferred to Indiana’s tough Michigan City Prison, he requested to be transferred there too. In May 1933, Dillinger was paroled, and he met up with accomplices of Pierpont. Dillinger’s plan was to raise enough funds to finance a prison break by Pierpont and the others, who then would take him on as a member of their elite robbery gang.

In four months, Dillinger and his gang robbed four Indiana and Ohio banks, two grocery stores, and a drug store for a total of more than $40,000. He gained notoriety as a sharply dressed and athletic gunman who at one bank leapt over the high teller railing into the vault. With the help of two of Pierpont’s women friends, Dillinger set up the jailbreak. Guns were bought and arranged to be smuggled into Michigan City Prison. Prison workers were bribed, and a safe house was set up. On September 22, however, just days before the jailbreak was scheduled to occur, Dillinger was arrested in Dayton, Ohio. Four days later, Pierpont and nine others broke out of Michigan City. Pierpont’s gang robbed a bank in Ohio for $11,000 and on October 12 came to Ohio to free Dillinger from the Lima city jail. The Lima sheriff was killed during the successful breakout. On October 30, the gang robbed a police arsenal, acquiring weapons, ammunition, and bulletproof vests.

The Pierpont/Dillinger gang robbed banks in Indiana, Wisconsin, and Chicago for more than $130,000, a great fortune in the Depression era, and eluded the police in several close encounters. In January 1934, the gang headed to Tucson, Arizona, to lay low. By this time, four police officers had been killed and two wounded, and the Chicago police had established an elite squad to track down the fugitives. They were recognized in Tucson and on January 25 captured without bloodshed. Dillinger was extradited to Indiana, arraigned for his January 15 murder of Indiana police officer William Patrick O’Malley, and held at Crown Point prison. On March 3, while still awaiting trial, he executed his most celebrated escape. That morning, he brandished a gun and methodically began locking up the prison officials. The legend is that the weapon was a wooden gun carved by Dillinger and blackened with shoe polish, but it may also have been a real gun smuggled into the prison by an associate.

Whatever the case, Dillinger raided the prison arsenal, where he found two sub-machine guns, and then enlisted the aid of another prisoner, an African American man named Herbert Youngblood. Dillinger and Youngblood then made their way to the prison garage, where they stole a sheriff’s car and calmly drove off–after pulling the ignition wires from the other vehicles parked there. Parting ways with Youngblood, Dillinger traveled to Chicago and formed a new gang featuring “Baby Face” Nelson, a psychopathic killer who used to work for Al Capone. The new Dillinger gang robbed banks in South Dakota and Iowa, netting $101,500 and wounding two more police officers. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) joined the manhunt for Dillinger after he escaped from Crown Point, and on March 31 two FBI agents closed in on him at an apartment in St. Paul, Minnesota. Dillinger and an accomplice shot their way out. In April, the Dillinger gang went to hide out at a resort in Wisconsin, but the FBI was tipped off. On April 22, the FBI stormed the resort.

In a disastrous operation, three civilians were mistakenly shot by the FBI, one of whom died; Baby Face Nelson killed one agent, shot another, and critically wounded a police officer; the entire Dillinger gang escaped. With two other gang members, Dillinger traveled to Chicago, surviving a shoot-out with Minnesota police along the way. In Chicago, he lived in a safe house and got a facelift to conceal his identity. At some point, he also used acid to burn off his fingerprints. On June 30, he participated in his last robbery, in South Bend, Indiana. The gang got away with about $30,000 at the cost of one officer killed, four civilians shot, and one gang member shot. In July, Anna Sage, a Romanian-born brothel madam in Chicago and friend of Dillinger’s, agreed to cooperate with the FBI in exchange for leniency in an upcoming deportation hearing. She also hoped to cash in on the $10,000 bounty that had been put on his head. On July 22, Sage and Dillinger went to see the gangster movie Manhattan Melodrama at the Biograph Theatre around the corner from her house.

Twenty FBI agents and police officers staked out the theater and waited for him to emerge with Sage, who would be wearing an orange dress to identify herself. At 10:40 p.m., Dillinger came out. Sage’s orange dress looked red under the Biograph’s lights, which would earn her the nickname “the lady in red.” Dillinger was ordered to surrender, but he took off running. He made it as far as an alley at the end of the block before he was gunned down, allegedly because he pulled a gun. Two bystanders were wounded in the gunfire. Public Enemy No. 1, as FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover had deemed him, was dead. Some researchers have claimed that another man, not Dillinger, was killed outside the Biograph, citing autopsy findings on the corpse that allegedly contradict Dillinger’s known medical record. Related Videos Chicago's Haunted Biograph Theater where Johyn Dillinger was shot Read about Chicago's haunted Theaters Biograph Theater The ghost of John Dillinger has been seen running in the alley behind the Biograph Theater, where he was killed. The photos above were both taken in 1934 and chronicle moments for Dillinger.

(Left) The scene outside of Chicago's Biograph Theater less than one hour after Dillinger. was allegedly killed by the FBI. (Right) An infamous photo of Dillinger taken in Crown Point, Indiana. The man to the left of Dillinger is Prosecuting Attorney, Robert Estell, who had hopes of running for governor. His political career was ruined however when Dillinger leaned on his shoulder and Estell instinctively put his arm around the bank robber's shoulder for this photo. On the evening of July 22, 1934 a dapper-looking man wearing a straw hat and a pin-striped suit stepped out of the Biograph Theater in downtown Chicago where he and two girlfriends had watched a film called Manhattan Melodrama starring Clark Gable. No sooner had they reached the sidewalk when a man appeared and identified himself as Melvin Purvis of the FBI. He ordered the man in the straw hat to surrender. Several shots rang out and the fleeing man in the straw hat fell dead to the pavement, his left eye shredded by one of the shots fired by the other agents who lay in wait.

So ended the life of John Herbert Dillinger, the most prolific bank robber in modern American history and the general public's favorite Public Enemy No. 1...... or did it? One of the most famous haunted theaters in the history of Chicago is the Biograph Theater, located on North Lincoln Avenue in downtown Chicago. It was here, in 1934, that John Dillinger supposedly met his end.... The theater has gained a reputation for being haunted, but the story of the ghost seen here actually revolves around the alleyway outside. But the theater, and the surrounding businesses, have banked on the criminal's name for many years. On the day after the fatal shots were fired, the bar next door placed a sign in the window that read "Dillinger had his last drink here". Theater patrons can examine a window in the box office that describes the set-up of Dillinger by the FBI. They can sit in the same seat where Dillinger sat nearly 65 years ago and after the film, they can emerge into "Dillinger's Alley.... it is here where the ghost is said to appear. But what really happened in the final moments of Dillinger's life?

To answer the strange and perplexing questions surrounding his possible death, we have to first look at his bloody and violent life. On the evening that he was killed, Dillinger left the theater in the company of Anna Sage (the famed "Lady in Red") and with another girlfriend, Polly Hamilton. He had been hiding out in her North Halstead Street apartment but for months he had been pursued diligently by Melvin Purvis, the head of the Chicago branch of the FBI. Purvis had lived and breathed Dillinger (and would, after the robber's death, commit suicide) and had narrowly missed him several times at a State Street and Austin Cafe; at Dillinger's north woods hideout in Sault St. Marie; and at Wisconsin's Little Bohemia, where FBI agents recklessly killed a civilian and injured two others. It was finally at the Biograph where Purvis caught up with Dillinger and put an end to his career. The criminal life of John Dillinger started in 1925 when he held up a grocery store in his hometown of Mooresville, Indiana.

Pleading guilty, he was sentenced to serve 10-20 years in prison while his accomplice, who claimed not guilty, only received a sentence of 2 years. Dillinger spent the next 8 years in jail but when he was released in May of 1933, he robbed three banks in three months and netted more than $40,000. Thus began Dillinger's wild spree of crime. Dillinger was captured in September 1933 and imprisoned in Lima, Ohio. In three weeks, his gang sprung him in a dangerous escape and again were back to bank robbing. In January 1934, Dillinger shot and killed a police officer in East Chicago, for which he was arrested in Arizona and jailed in Crown Point, Indiana to await trial. He escaped a month later, using a fake gun that he had carved from a bar of soap and blackened with shoe polish. He eluded the police for another month, shooting his way out of an ambush in St. Paul and dodging the FBI near Mercer, Wisconsin. Dillinger arrived in Chicago in late June and proceeded to rob a South Bend, Indiana bank and kill a police officer and four civilians.

In just over a year, Dillinger has robbed six banks, killed two cops, two FBI agents, escaped from jail twice and had escaped from police and FBI traps six times. In the process of all of this violence, Dillinger managed to become an American folk hero. It was the time of the Great Depression and here was a man striking back at poverty by taking from those who could afford losing their money the most. Stories began to circulate about Dillinger giving away much of his stolen money to the poor and the needy. Were these stories true? Who knows? But the American public believed it, which was more than the government could stand. Dillinger had to be taken, and soon. He had become J. Edgar Hoover's "Public Enemy No. 1"... and the heat was on. Dillinger knew that his luck could only hold out for so long and in May of 1934, he contacted a washed-up doctor who had done time for drug charges named Loeser. He paid him $5000 to perform some plastic surgery on his recognizable face, getting rid of three moles and a scar and getting rid of the cleft of his chin and the bridge of his nose.

The doctor agreed to the surgery and left Dillinger in the care of his assistant to administer the general anesthetic. An ether-soaked towel was placed over Dillinger's face and the assistant told him to breathe deeply. Suddenly, Dillinger's face turned blue and he swallowed his tongue... and died! Dr. Loeser immediately revived the gangster and proceeded to do the surgery. Dillinger would have no idea how close he had come to death. Ironically, just 25 days later, he would catch a bullet in front of the Biograph Theater.... or so they say. When Dillinger walked into the theater that night he had been set up by Anna Sage, who had taken him there at the request of the FBI. She had promised to be wearing a red dress for identification purposes. Sixteen cops and FBI agents waited over two hours outside the theater, waiting for the unknowing Dillinger to exit. They even walked the aisles of the theater several times to make sure that he was still there.... how could the clever gangster have not noticed them? Finally, Dillinger left the theater and was met by Melvin Purvis.

He stepped down from the curb, just passing the alley entrance and tried to run. He reached for his own gun, but it was too late... four shots were fired and three hit Dillinger. The gangster fell, dead when he hit the pavement. Purvis ordered Dillinger rushed to nearby Alexian Brothers Hospital. He was turned away at the doors as he was already dead and Purvis and the police waited on the hospital lawn for the coroner to arrive. A mob scene greeted the coroner at the Cook County Morgue where curiosity-seekers filed in long lines past a glass window for a last look at Dillinger. Little did they know that the man they were looking at may not have been the famed gangster at all..... The scene at the Biograph Theater was also chaotic. Tradition tells that passers-by ran to the scene and dipped their handkerchiefs in the blood of the fallen man, hoping for a macabre souvenir of this terrible event. And it is at this theater where the final moments of John Dillinger have left a lasting impression.

It would be many years after before people passing by the Biograph on North Lincoln Avenue would begin to spot a blue, hazy figure running down the alley next the theater, falling down and then vanishing. Along with the sighting of this strange apparition were reports of cold spots, icy chills, unexplainable cool breezes, and odd feelings of fear and uneasiness. Local business owners began to notice that people had stopped using the alley as a shortcut to Halstead Street. The place certainly seemed haunted.... but is the ghost of the man who has been seen here really that of John Dillinger? I would hazard a guess to say that it is not! Ever since the night of the shoot-out at the Biograph, eyewitness accounts and the official autopsy have given support to the theory that the dead man may not have been Dillinger. Rumors have persisted that the man killed by the FBI was actually a small-time hood from Wisconsin who had been set up by Dillinger's girlfriend and Anna Sage to take the hit. There are many striking errors in the autopsy report....

the dead man had brown eyes while Dillinger's were blue; the corpse had a rheumatic heart condition since childhood while Dillinger's naval service records said that his heart was in perfect condition; and the man who was killed was much shorter and heavier than Dillinger and had none of his distinguishing marks. Police agencies claimed that Dillinger had plastic surgery to get rid of his scars and moles, but also missing were at least two scars on Dillinger's body! And there is more conflicting evidence to say that the FBI killed the wrong man...On the night of the shooting, a local man named Jimmy Lawrence disappeared. Lawrence was a small-time criminal who had recently moved from Wisconsin. He lived in the neighborhood and often came to the Biograph Theater.... he also bore an uncanny resemblance to John Dillinger. In addition, a photograph taken from the purse of Dillinger's girlfriend shows her in the company of a man who looks like the man killed at the Biograph... a photo taken before Dillinger ever had plastic surgery! Could Dillinger's girlfriend have made a date with Jimmy Lawrence to go to the Biograph, knowing (thanks to Anna Sage) that the FBI was waiting for him there?

Some writers have suggested this is exactly what happened. Respected crime writer, Jay Robert Nash, an expert on Dillinger, reported in his book The Dillinger Dossier that Dillinger's girlfriend and Anna Sage rigged the whole affair. According to Nash, Sage was a prostitute from England who was in danger of being deported. To prevent this, she went to the police and told them that she knew Dillinger. In exchange for not being deported, she would arrange to have Dillinger at the Biograph, where they could nab him. She agreed to wear a bright, red dress so she would be easily recognized. While FBI agents waited, "Dillinger" and his girlfriends watched the movie and enjoyed popcorn and soda. When the film ended, the FBI agents made their move. Nash believes however, that they shot Jimmy Lawrence instead of Dillinger. He also believes that when they learned of their mistake, the FBI covered it up, either because they feared the wrath of J. Edgar Hoover, who told them to "get Dillinger or else", or because Hoover himself was too embarrassed to admit the mistake. So, what happened to the real John Dillinger?

Nobody knows for sure, but some claim this American Robin Hood, who supposedly only robbed from banks and gave some of his spoils to the poor, married and moved to Oregon. He disappeared in the late 1940's and was never heard from again....... The Biograph Theater is located on North Lincoln Avenue in downtown Chicago. 75 Years Since US Justice Dept. Offers $10,000 For Arrest Of John Dillinger Photos and Images | Getty Images 75 Years Since US Justice Dept. Offers $10,000 For Arrest Of John Dillinger January 01, 1934 License Anna Sage (1889 - 1947), whose real name was Ana Cumpanas, a brothel madam in...Anna Sage (1889 - 1947), whose real name was Ana Cumpanas, a brothel madam in Chicago, circa 1934. She betrayed bank robber John Dillinger to the FBI, and was with him at the Biograph Theater when he was shot and killed. She was known afterwards as the 'Lady in Red' for the colour of the dress she wore to identify herself to the FBI.

LessMore - Dillinger Killed 80 years ago today infamous... Archive Dillinger Killed 80 years ago today infamous gangster John Dillinger was shot and killed by Federal agents outside Chicago’s Biograph Theater on the 22nd July, 1934. Dillinger had become America’s most wanted man having managed to evaded the police and FBI for a year while embarking on a series of bank robberies. On the evening of the 22nd July, Dillinger, Anna Sage and Polly Hamilton left a screening of Manhattan Melodrama starring Clark Gable. Dillinger is said to have spotted agents as he walked out of the cinema. Moving to draw his pistol, a .380ACP Colt 1908 Pocket Hammerless , however he was unable to pull the pistol from his pocket and while moving towards a nearby alley he was shot by three FBI agents with a fatal round hitting him in the back of the neck.

Dillinger’s personal effects, including his 1908 Colt Pocket Hammerless ( source ) The above video is an original MCA/Universal newsreel showing (rather graphically) Dillinger’s body, the reaction of crowds and his personal effects.

Question: Which gangster was shot and killed outside the Biograph Cinema in Chicago in 1934?
Answer: JOHN DILLINGER